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Traditionally, the NPD Group releases its figures of US game sales the second Thursday of each month. However, the industry-standard research firm forwent that practice in June, delaying the release of its May figures until after the June 15-17 Electronic Entertainment Expo.

Not even Red Dead Redemption's 1.5-million unit debut could save the US game industry from another down month in May.

Those figures were sent out today and revealed that the US game industry contracted once again. NPD reported overall retail sales of non-PC software, hardware, and accessories fell 5 percent year-over-year to $823.5 million. Hardware sales took the biggest hit, plummeting 20 percent to just $241.5 million. Software bucked the trend, rising 4 percent to $466.3 million.

One big reason software bounce backed was the release of Red Dead Redemption by Take-Two Interactive subsidiary Rockstar Games. Buoyed by rapt reviews, the open-world Western was the number one game of the month, selling a combined total of 1.513 million units. The Xbox 360 edition led NPD's top 10 with 945,900 units sold, followed by the PlayStation 3 version with 567,100 units.

Though some software titles disappointed, it was a lackluster month for hardware all around. The usually robust DS and Wii had a weak month, selling just 383,700 and 334,800 units, respectively. By comparison, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 sales were anemic, hitting just 196,600 and 154,500 units each. Even then, the PSP lagged far behind, selling just 59,400 units--one of its poorest monthly showings yet. (NPD no longer tracks sales of the PlayStation 2.)

In a statement, NPD analyst Anita Fraizer said that as low as the hardware numbers seemed, they are typical for the weak month of May. "Console hardware unit sales are, in fact, flat to last year," she said. "Declines in sales result from a lower average selling price this year compared to last. The portable hardware category contributed the most to the decline in hardware sales for the month, yet the DS is the best-selling hardware system for May."

"The 360 platform, across hardware, software, and accessories, contributed the greatest share of revenue to industry sales for the month and year-to-date," she said. "The PS3 platform has enjoyed the greatest percentage growth, with platform sales across hardware, software, and accessories up 32 percent for the month and 28 percent year-to-date."